Web Quotableonline.com Frasescelebres.org Greatbookscollection.org

Aaron
(אַהֲרֹן
;, a word meaning "bearer of martyrs" in Hebrew
(perhaps also, or instead, related to the Egyptian
"Aha Rw," "Warrior Lion"), Standard Hebrew Aharon,
Tiberian Hebrew ʾAhărōn), was a
Levite and the elder brother of Moses and the
eldest son of Amram and Jochebed (Exodus 6:16 ff.;
Numbers 33:39). He is considered the traditional
founder, ancestor and head of the Jewish
priesthood and with Moses, exodus|led the
Israelites out of Egypt. The greater part of his
life-history is preserved in Biblical narratives.

The Biblical representation of his character,
negative and shadowy compared with Moses's, may be
viewed in several ways. A clue to the seemingly
contradictory delineations of Aaron is found in
the framework of documentary analysis (see also
Hexateuch), which is accepted by some but not all
scholars.  According to those who accept the
documentary hypothesis, the following portions of
text belong to (1) Elohist|E, (2) Jahwist|J, (3)
Deuteronomist|D, and (4) Priestly source|P
sources, respectively, with the fifth item being
from Ezekiel.

#Aaron as fallible. These passages do not
represent Aaron as a sacrosanct priest. He comes
to meet Moses (Exodus 4:14), supports him in war
(Exodus 17:12) and jurisprudence (Exodus 24:14).
He yields to the people and makes the Calf (Exodus
32), and, with Miriam, criticises Moses for
marrying a Cushite woman. Miriam is subsequently
punished (Numbers 12). He is present at the
sacrificial covenant meal between Israel and the
Kenites (Exodus 18:12). In this aspect, Joshua,
instead of Aaron, serves in the Tent (Exodus
33:11).
#Aaron as Moses's prophet. This representation
concerns the covenant meal on Sinai (Exodus 24:1,
2, 9-11) and the vague charge that Aaron "let the
people loose" (Exodus 32:25). Aaron seems to be an
afterthought in the plague narrative (Exodus
8:25). In both this and the last view, Moses is
the viceregent of God and Aaron is Moses' prophet
(Exodus 4:16, 7:1).
#Aaron as idolatrous. In Deuteronomy 9, Aaron is
partly responsible for the building of the Golden
Calf. The story says that Yahweh is so angry
toward Aaron that he was about to destroy him. It
appears that it is only Moses's intercessory
prayer and his destruction of the Golden Calf
which saves Aaron. The account of his death in
Deuteromy 10:6 is different from that in Numbers
20:22. According to Deuteromy it occured at
Moserah, seven stations from Mt. Hor (Numbers
33:30), in the early months of the wandering
because of the sign of the Golden Calf. The only
other passage in reference to Aaron in Deuteronomy
merely states that he is the brother of Moses
(Deuteronomy 32:50).
#Aaron as subordinate. The first three, simpler,
plagues Aaron brings on at Moses' command;
thereafter Moses himself is the actor. In the
narratives (Numbers 16, 17) it is Moses in each
case who vindicates him. Aaron dies at Mt. Hor in
the 40th year of the Exodus (Numbers 20:22,
33:38), because of rebellion at Meribah (cf.
Deuteronomy as above).
#Aaron as non-priestly. In Leviticus 17-26, Aaron
appears only in redactional passages connecting
the Law of Holiness with its present context. In
Ezekiel 40-48 Zadok, not Aaron, is the eponym of
the priestly line (44:15, etc.).

In Exodus 25-30 and 35-40, and in Leviticus and
Numbers Aaron's name occurs frequently, but
evidently as a convenient priestly symbol
demonstrating the priestly function to the people
(cf. the usage in Ezekiel). What was done to and
for Aaron was what whould be done with any high
priest. The ceremonial enduement prescribed in
Exodus chs. 28, 29 and Leviticus ch. 8 is a manual
for the sanctuary ritual. The prominence of
Aaron's name in Exodus and Numbers reveals and
emphasizes the necessity felt for prescriptive
rights for the priesthood.

Although Aaron was said to have been sent by the
Lord to meet Moses at the "mount of God" (Horeb,
Exodus 4:27), he plays only a secondary part in
the incidents at Pharaoh's court. After the
"exodus" (Greek language|Greek, going out) from
Egypt a striking account is given of the vision of
the God of Israel vouchsafed to him and to his
sons Nadab and Abihu on the same holy mount
(Exodus 24:1; 9-11), and together with Hur he was
at the side of Moses when the latter, by means of
his wonder-working rod, enabled Joshua to defeat
the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8-16). Hur held up the
right hand of Moses while Aaron lifted up his
brother's left hand. With their help, Moses was
able to hold the rod up high in supplication to
God.

Hur and Aaron were left in charge of the
Israelites when Moses and Joshua ascended the
mount to receive the Tables of the Law (Exodus 24:
12-15), and when the people, in dismay at the
prolonged absence of their leader, demanded a god,
and persuaded Aaron to fashion the golden calf.
This was regarded as an act of apostasy which,
according to one tradition, led to the
consecration of the Levites, and almost cost Aaron
his life (Deuteronomy 9:20). Hur was, according to
legend and tradition, murdered by the mob when he
refused to go along with the people's idolatrous
demands. Aaron, wishing to avoid such a fate for
himself, acceded to their demands and built the
calf. The incident paves the way for the account
of the preparation of the new tables of stone
which contain a series of laws quite distinct from
the first Ten Commandments (Exodus 33 and
following).

Aaron was given the priesthood when Moses, who was
supposed to receive the priesthood along with the
leadership of the Jewish people, argued with God
that he should not be the leader. It was then
given to Aaron. Aaron received the priesthood
along with his children and any descendents that
would be born subsequently. However, his grandson
Pinchas (Phineas) had already been born, and did
not receive the priesthood until he killed the
prince of the tribe of Simon and the princess of
the Midianites (Numbers 31:11–12).

It was for striking a rock in anger at Kadesh that
both Aaron and Moses were prohibited from entering
the Promised Land (Numbers 20). In what way they
had not sanctified (an allusion in the Hebrew to
Kodesh "holy") is unclear. Aaron is said to have
died at Moserah (Deuteronomy 10:6), or at Mount
Hor; the latter is an unidentified site on the
border of Edom (Numbers 20:23, 33:37; for Moserah
see Numbers 30-31), and consequently not in the
neighbourhood of Petra, which has been the
traditional scene from the time of Josephus
(Antiquities iv. 4. 7).

Aaron's son Eleazar was buried in an Ephraimite
locality known after the grandson as the hill of
Phinehas (Joshua 24:33). Little historical
information has been preserved of either. The name
Phinehas (apparently of Egyptian origin, Pi Nehas,
"the Nubian") is better known as that of a son of
Eli, a member of the priesthood of Shiloh, and
Eleazar is only another form of Eliezer the son of
Moses, to whose kin Eli is said to have belonged.
The close relation between Aaronite and Levitical
names and those of clans related to Moses is very
noteworthy, and it is a curious coincidence that
the name of Aaron's sister Miriam appears in a
genealogy of Caleb (1 Chronicles 4:1) with
Jethro|Jether and Kenites|Heber.

Recently, the tradition that Kohanim are actually
descended from Aaron was supported by genetic
testing (Skorecki et al., 1997). Since all direct
male lineage shares a common Y chromosome, testing
was done across sectors of the Jewish population
to see if there was any commonality between their
Y chromosomes. There was proven to be certain
distinctions among the "Kohen" Y chromosomes,
implying that the Kohanim do share some common
ancestry. This information was used to support the
claim of the Lemba (a sub-Saharan tribe) that they
were in fact, a tribe of Jews.

In the Qur'an he is known as Harun.

==See Also==
Wikisource1911Enc|Aaron
* Kohen
* Y-chromosomal Aaron
* Documentary Hypothesis - theories on the
alternate meaning of Aaron's presence in the
Torah.

1911

	Web Quotableonline.com Frasescelebres.org Greatbookscollection.org

Aaron
(אַהֲרֹן
;, a word meaning "bearer of martyrs" in Hebrew
(perhaps also, or instead, related to the Egyptian
"Aha Rw," "Warrior Lion"), Standard Hebrew Aharon,
Tiberian Hebrew ʾAhărōn), was a
Levite and the elder brother of Moses and the
eldest son of Amram and Jochebed (Exodus 6:16 ff.;
Numbers 33:39). He is considered the traditional
founder, ancestor and head of the Jewish
priesthood and with Moses, exodus|led the
Israelites out of Egypt. The greater part of his
life-history is preserved in Biblical narratives.

The Biblical representation of his character,
negative and shadowy compared with Moses's, may be
viewed in several ways. A clue to the seemingly
contradictory delineations of Aaron is found in
the framework of documentary analysis (see also
Hexateuch), which is accepted by some but not all
scholars.  According to those who accept the
documentary hypothesis, the following portions of
text belong to (1) Elohist|E, (2) Jahwist|J, (3)
Deuteronomist|D, and (4) Priestly source|P
sources, respectively, with the fifth item being
from Ezekiel.

#Aaron as fallible. These passages do not
represent Aaron as a sacrosanct priest. He comes
to meet Moses (Exodus 4:14), supports him in war
(Exodus 17:12) and jurisprudence (Exodus 24:14).
He yields to the people and makes the Calf (Exodus
32), and, with Miriam, criticises Moses for
marrying a Cushite woman. Miriam is subsequently
punished (Numbers 12). He is present at the
sacrificial covenant meal between Israel and the
Kenites (Exodus 18:12). In this aspect, Joshua,
instead of Aaron, serves in the Tent (Exodus
33:11).
#Aaron as Moses's prophet. This representation
concerns the covenant meal on Sinai (Exodus 24:1,
2, 9-11) and the vague charge that Aaron "let the
people loose" (Exodus 32:25). Aaron seems to be an
afterthought in the plague narrative (Exodus
8:25). In both this and the last view, Moses is
the viceregent of God and Aaron is Moses' prophet
(Exodus 4:16, 7:1).
#Aaron as idolatrous. In Deuteronomy 9, Aaron is
partly responsible for the building of the Golden
Calf. The story says that Yahweh is so angry
toward Aaron that he was about to destroy him. It
appears that it is only Moses's intercessory
prayer and his destruction of the Golden Calf
which saves Aaron. The account of his death in
Deuteromy 10:6 is different from that in Numbers
20:22. According to Deuteromy it occured at
Moserah, seven stations from Mt. Hor (Numbers
33:30), in the early months of the wandering
because of the sign of the Golden Calf. The only
other passage in reference to Aaron in Deuteronomy
merely states that he is the brother of Moses
(Deuteronomy 32:50).
#Aaron as subordinate. The first three, simpler,
plagues Aaron brings on at Moses' command;
thereafter Moses himself is the actor. In the
narratives (Numbers 16, 17) it is Moses in each
case who vindicates him. Aaron dies at Mt. Hor in
the 40th year of the Exodus (Numbers 20:22,
33:38), because of rebellion at Meribah (cf.
Deuteronomy as above).
#Aaron as non-priestly. In Leviticus 17-26, Aaron
appears only in redactional passages connecting
the Law of Holiness with its present context. In
Ezekiel 40-48 Zadok, not Aaron, is the eponym of
the priestly line (44:15, etc.).

In Exodus 25-30 and 35-40, and in Leviticus and
Numbers Aaron's name occurs frequently, but
evidently as a convenient priestly symbol
demonstrating the priestly function to the people
(cf. the usage in Ezekiel). What was done to and
for Aaron was what whould be done with any high
priest. The ceremonial enduement prescribed in
Exodus chs. 28, 29 and Leviticus ch. 8 is a manual
for the sanctuary ritual. The prominence of
Aaron's name in Exodus and Numbers reveals and
emphasizes the necessity felt for prescriptive
rights for the priesthood.

Although Aaron was said to have been sent by the
Lord to meet Moses at the "mount of God" (Horeb,
Exodus 4:27), he plays only a secondary part in
the incidents at Pharaoh's court. After the
"exodus" (Greek language|Greek, going out) from
Egypt a striking account is given of the vision of
the God of Israel vouchsafed to him and to his
sons Nadab and Abihu on the same holy mount
(Exodus 24:1; 9-11), and together with Hur he was
at the side of Moses when the latter, by means of
his wonder-working rod, enabled Joshua to defeat
the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8-16). Hur held up the
right hand of Moses while Aaron lifted up his
brother's left hand. With their help, Moses was
able to hold the rod up high in supplication to
God.

Hur and Aaron were left in charge of the
Israelites when Moses and Joshua ascended the
mount to receive the Tables of the Law (Exodus 24:
12-15), and when the people, in dismay at the
prolonged absence of their leader, demanded a god,
and persuaded Aaron to fashion the golden calf.
This was regarded as an act of apostasy which,
according to one tradition, led to the
consecration of the Levites, and almost cost Aaron
his life (Deuteronomy 9:20). Hur was, according to
legend and tradition, murdered by the mob when he
refused to go along with the people's idolatrous
demands. Aaron, wishing to avoid such a fate for
himself, acceded to their demands and built the
calf. The incident paves the way for the account
of the preparation of the new tables of stone
which contain a series of laws quite distinct from
the first Ten Commandments (Exodus 33 and
following).

Aaron was given the priesthood when Moses, who was
supposed to receive the priesthood along with the
leadership of the Jewish people, argued with God
that he should not be the leader. It was then
given to Aaron. Aaron received the priesthood
along with his children and any descendents that
would be born subsequently. However, his grandson
Pinchas (Phineas) had already been born, and did
not receive the priesthood until he killed the
prince of the tribe of Simon and the princess of
the Midianites (Numbers 31:11–12).

It was for striking a rock in anger at Kadesh that
both Aaron and Moses were prohibited from entering
the Promised Land (Numbers 20). In what way they
had not sanctified (an allusion in the Hebrew to
Kodesh "holy") is unclear. Aaron is said to have
died at Moserah (Deuteronomy 10:6), or at Mount
Hor; the latter is an unidentified site on the
border of Edom (Numbers 20:23, 33:37; for Moserah
see Numbers 30-31), and consequently not in the
neighbourhood of Petra, which has been the
traditional scene from the time of Josephus
(Antiquities iv. 4. 7).

Aaron's son Eleazar was buried in an Ephraimite
locality known after the grandson as the hill of
Phinehas (Joshua 24:33). Little historical
information has been preserved of either. The name
Phinehas (apparently of Egyptian origin, Pi Nehas,
"the Nubian") is better known as that of a son of
Eli, a member of the priesthood of Shiloh, and
Eleazar is only another form of Eliezer the son of
Moses, to whose kin Eli is said to have belonged.
The close relation between Aaronite and Levitical
names and those of clans related to Moses is very
noteworthy, and it is a curious coincidence that
the name of Aaron's sister Miriam appears in a
genealogy of Caleb (1 Chronicles 4:1) with
Jethro|Jether and Kenites|Heber.

Recently, the tradition that Kohanim are actually
descended from Aaron was supported by genetic
testing (Skorecki et al., 1997). Since all direct
male lineage shares a common Y chromosome, testing
was done across sectors of the Jewish population
to see if there was any commonality between their
Y chromosomes. There was proven to be certain
distinctions among the "Kohen" Y chromosomes,
implying that the Kohanim do share some common
ancestry. This information was used to support the
claim of the Lemba (a sub-Saharan tribe) that they
were in fact, a tribe of Jews.

In the Qur'an he is known as Harun.

==See Also==
Wikisource1911Enc|Aaron
* Kohen
* Y-chromosomal Aaron
* Documentary Hypothesis - theories on the
alternate meaning of Aaron's presence in the
Torah.

1911